Coup plot in Bukina Faso thwarted by ruling military junta

By Jon Egie

A planned attempt to topple the ruling military junta of Bukina Faso through a coup d’etat has been thwarted, Tuesday, February 26.

Four Officers in the country’s military and other participants suspected of partaking in the plot have been arrested while search for fleeing others is ongoing.

The junta said had the coup succeeded, the sovereignty and liberty of citizens from oppression of terrorist groups would have been engangered.

The military government in a statement said: “A proven coup attempt was foiled on September 26, 2023, by Burkina Faso’s intelligence and security services.

“At present, officers and other alleged participants in this destabilization attempt have been arrested and others are being actively sought”.

The statement said the perpetrators had the sinister intention of attacking institutions of Burkina Faso and plunging the country into chaos.

According to the military government, it would seek to shed all possible light on this plot, adding that it regretted that officers whose oath was to defend their homeland have strayed into an undertaking of such nature.

It said four people had been detained so far while two were on the run.

The statement added that the regime launched an investigation based on credible allegations about a plot against state security implicating officers.

“We regret that officers whose oath is to defend their homeland have strayed into an undertaking of this nature, which aims to hinder the Burkinabe people’s march for sovereignty and total liberation from the terrorist hordes trying to enslave them,” the statement said.

The current junta came to power after two military coups in 2022, triggered in part by a worsening insurgency by armed groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, IS, that has destabilized Burkina Faso and its neighbours.

Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the junta leader, seized power on September 30, 2022, as it signifies the country’s second coup in eight months.